On August 14, 2024, the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri declared unconstitutional two anti-ESG disclosure rules issued by the Missouri Securities Division and applicable to broker-dealers and...more
On July 31, 2024, nine Democratic lawmakers from the House and Senate wrote a letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (“CFTC”) Chairman in support of the proposed guidance regarding the listing of voluntary...more
With calm being restored after the frenzied effort in the EU to pass the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), it may be time to evaluate the extent to which the law as adopted has met its original...more
With great fanfare, the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) will soon become law in the EU. As many have commented – and we have written about repeatedly for four years (see here, here, here and here for...more
Executive Summary and Overview-
State anti-ESG lawmakers have enacted legislation aimed at restricting investors from considering ESG factors in their investment strategies and decisions by requiring state financial...more
4/3/2024
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Pecuniary Losses ,
Popular ,
Sustainability
Please see chart below for more information....more
3/21/2024
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Form 10-K ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Popular ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sustainability ,
Sustainable Business Practices
We are delighted to bring you this edition of Spotlight Magazine, the content of which has come at just the right time, with it becoming increasingly apparent that we are in the midst of a global regulatory refresh of the...more
3/8/2024
/ Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) ,
Alternative Investment Funds ,
Asset Management ,
Credit Funds ,
ELTIF ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Greenwashing ,
Infrastructure ,
Private Equity ,
Private Funds ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
In an open meeting on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) approved in a 3-2 vote a Final Rule on climate disclosures that will “require registrants to provide certain climate-related...more
3/7/2024
/ Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Emerging Growth Companies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Final Rules ,
Form 10-K ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Renewable Energy ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Smaller Reporting Companies ,
Sustainability ,
Tax Credits
After months of discussion – and years of development – on December 14, 2023, the European Council and the Parliament reached a provisional agreement on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (“CSDDD”). The...more
On October 7, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 253 into law, which imposes climate-related disclosure requirements for companies with revenues over $1 billion annually that do business in California. On the same...more
While California’s Climate Accountability Package has received much recent attention, another California climate disclosure bill targeting corporate greenwashing was also signed into law on October 7, 2023, and its...more
As we transition into an era of human rights due diligence mandated by regulation, many in the business and human rights community are nervously asking the same question. Will a company’s steps to identify and address actual...more
11/14/2023
/ Corruption ,
Due Diligence ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Parliament ,
Forced Labor ,
Governance Standards ,
Human Rights ,
Supply Chain ,
Undue Influence Claims ,
United Nations
Three years ago, as part of the EU’s initiative on sustainable governance, the European Commission released a lengthy study on directors’ duties. The study affirmed what many already understood: corporate decision makers face...more
8/21/2023
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Due Diligence ,
Duty of Care ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Green Deal ,
Human Rights ,
Modern Slavery Act ,
OECD ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholders ,
Sustainability ,
Transparency
The voluntary carbon market is rapidly growing to match the increasing focus by corporate leaders on ESG efforts and net-zero goals. In 2021, the voluntary carbon market reached $2 billion, and by some estimates may be worth...more
While it might seem counterintuitive, as business and human rights continues a sprint toward a mandatory paradigm, voluntary multi-stakeholder initiatives (“MSIs”) are perhaps more important than ever before. MSIs provide...more
A European legislative initiative aimed at requiring companies to undertake human rights and environmental due diligence is gradually but steadily making its way through the EU institutions.
Previously, on March 10, 2021, the...more
In 2011, following the adoption of the United Nations Guiding Principles, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (the “Guidelines”)—the only existing intergovernmental guidance to businesses—introduced a new...more
The European Union’s Draft Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (“CSDDD”) continues to generate ample attention and feedback. At its core, the proposed directive seeks to apply the due diligence formula of the UN...more
In 2011, following the adoption of the United Nations Guiding Principles, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (the “Guidelines”)—the only existing intergovernmental guidance to businesses—introduced a new...more
The Norwegian Transparency Act, a broad law mandating that covered companies conduct human rights-related due diligence for their operations and supply chains, went into effect in July 2022. The ambitious law is part of a...more
The explosion of global business and human rights continued to resonate across the globe in 2022. Some of the business and human rights trends have been evident and growing for several years; others are relatively new. Many...more
12/29/2022
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Anti-SLAPP ,
Biometric Information ,
Corporate Governance ,
DNA ,
Due Diligence ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Forced Labor ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
General Assembly ,
Greenwashing ,
Human Rights ,
Popular ,
Supply Chain ,
Sustainability ,
Transparency ,
UNESCO ,
United Nations
As the European Union (“EU”) continues to debate whether downstream responsibilities will fall within the contours of its hefty Corporate Sustainability Mandatory Due Diligence Directive (“CSMDD”), and the EU Council just...more
12/5/2022
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Corporate Governance ,
Due Diligence ,
EU ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Forced Labor ,
Human Rights ,
Human Trafficking ,
Modern Slavery Act ,
OECD ,
RICO ,
Supply Chain ,
Sustainability ,
UK ,
United Nations
In the ever-evolving compliance landscape for life sciences companies, staying abreast of current trends and developing best practices to assess and mitigate risks is critical. Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)...more
Users of ephemeral messaging applications may intend that their messages be—as the word “ephemeral” suggests—short lived, but the real-world consequences and legal ramifications from improper use of such apps can be anything...more
10/7/2022
/ Books & Records ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Electronic Communications ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Instant Messaging Apps ,
Investment Adviser ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Snapchat ,
WhatsApp
With great anticipation, on September 14 the European Union proposed a new regulation broadly prohibiting the import, export and sale of goods made wholly or in part with forced labor (“Proposed Regulation”)....more